


meridian

by boccardo_syllogism



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, First Meetings, Flash Fic, Human Phryne, Mer Jack, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:34:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22401880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boccardo_syllogism/pseuds/boccardo_syllogism
Summary: Flash fic challenge: Mermaid AU.Jack is on his usual patrol when he notices something decidedly out of the ordinary.
Relationships: Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson
Comments: 27
Kudos: 72
Collections: Miss Fisher's Flashfic Challenge Heat 1





	meridian

**Author's Note:**

> I originally had this idea AGES ago, purely as crack, but then I accidentally plotted it out for real, and here, I guess, is the beginning of what my dramatic brain has dubbed the Pearl Fisher AU. Not too shabby for two hours.

There is a small rowboat tied to the dock of the island where the local humans used to hunt fish many seasons ago. Jack hasn't seen _anyone_ human come near this area since he was a very small mer, and certainly not since he joined the force as a young adult. It's why he always leaves it for last when he's on his patrol - it's nice to end his shift quietly, somewhere he can come close enough to the surface to feel the sun on his skin.

Looks like that isn't going to happen today.

From this depth, he can't make out the name painted on the boat. Still, the hull is very well made, with a strong keel and no signs of overuse. No signs of any use at all, actually. The type of craft is strange considering the distance from the nearest port, but in fair weather a reasonably athletic human could manage without undue stress.

Still, why a rowboat? There are much more convenient types of watercraft these days. It's rare to see rowboats this far out unless accompanied by a larger ship.

Jack frowns.

His superiors will want details of the situation when he makes his report. A description of the rowboat will suffice; once communicated with other security pods along the coast, the origin and perhaps owner will be fairly simple to narrow down. This is not yet an emergency and nothing more is required of him.

But he isn't the youngest pod commander in the Bass Strait for nothing, and while he could very well swim off now having done his duty, a cold prickle of unease has him moving closer.

There is a small rowboat tied to the dock of the island where no human has visited since before the war. And if there is a human boat, there must be a human.

If he's going to keep his people safe, Jack needs to know why.

*****

Finding the human is easy. Its coverings are a riot of vivid colours that don't match the sand or the sea or the sky, and it is sitting motionless on the dock next to its boat. Trying to hunt? No, it isn't holding a stick and there aren't any nets. Waiting for another human? The rowboat is just about large enough to fit two. It's possible, Jack decides, and moves to another position where he can see the path that disappears into the island's foliage as well as the sea. He may as well keep an eye out for a second human - or a second boat - while he collects information about the first.

Clearly an adult. Much paler than the humans Jack is used to seeing at sea. Not a creature used to spending its days in the sun, then. Dark hair, long enough to be distinctly female, and unsettlingly straight without the sea to make it bloom.

Jack's sense of foreboding grows. Why did a _female_ human, too pale to know the sea the way sailors do, make its way to a place humans have forsaken for nearly a generation in a boat entirely wrong for the journey?

"I know you're there," the human says suddenly. Her eyes flick over to his hiding place, then back to the horizon.

Jack's blood runs cold.

"I'm not meant to, I think. But I remember seeing one of you when I was here as a child. And I need your help." The human unfolds, reaching into a small box at her side and tossing something into the water.

It's a coin. A bright, shiny coin unlike any Jack has ever seen before, with writing he doesn't recognize etched beautifully on each side. Few other mers understand his fascination with human money, but he likes the artistry in such a small object and the reverence with which humans treat it. This one would make a fantastic addition to his small collection, and he almost, _almost_ darts out to grab it before coming to his senses.

"Please," the human says, watching the coin sink with haunted eyes. "I'm not going to tell anyone else. I just want to know why one of you took my sister."


End file.
